Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People

Course overview

Course Description: This course reviews the Standards of Care developed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. The text reviews the purpose and use of the Standards of Care, as well as their global applicability. The differences between gender nonconformity and gender dysphoria are explained, and epidemiologic data are considered. Following an overview of therapeutic approaches for gender dysphoria, the course turns to the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria. Mental health, hormone therapy, reproductive health, voice and communication therapy, surgery, postoperative care, and lifelong preventive and primary care are covered in turn. The course concludes by considering the special circumstances of people living in institutional environments and people with disorders of sex development. This course is based upon material published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and is available as an open access article. This course on standards of care for people of nonconforming gender is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of care for transgender and transsexual people. The course material includes a review of care standards. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. Authors: Anne Marie Weber-Main, PhD, with the Standards of Care Revision Committee of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, chaired by Eli Coleman, PhD. Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding standards of care for transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people. Specifically, a professional will: Describe treatment principles for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria Identify standards of care for hormone therapy Recognize the importance of lifelong preventive and primary care for transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people Citation: Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People, 7th Version. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health.